Kerala High Court says steep breast-cancer drug prices may prompt government use

In a ruling on the affordability of two patented breast-cancer treatments—abemaciclib supplied by Eli Lilly and ribociclib supplied by Novartis—the Kerala High Court affirmed that protecting public health is a key government function. The bench rejected a narrow interpretation of “government use,” opening the door for the centre to apply Section 100 of the Patents Act when drug prices are deemed prohibitive. While generic palbociclib is available, the two drugs remain under active patent protection, and the court left it to the Ministry of Health to collect necessary data and decide on affordability.

No specific deadline was imposed, prompting activists like Arathi PM to caution that patients may continue to suffer avoidable deaths. KM Gopakumar noted that the decision places the burden on executive action, potentially influencing how India assesses access to patented medicines in the future.